She grinds her ass against my crotch. “A lot more now,” she purrs, but she only seems tipsy, not drunk. “I’m impressed you came down here.”
“Why are you impressed?”
She waves a hand to the stage. “Naked man-flesh everywhere.”
I point to the guys on stage. “They’re not technically naked.”
“They’re nearly naked,” she counters.
“Nearly, technically, completely. Don’t care. Why would any of the above bother me?”
“Most men wouldn’t join a woman at a strip club where hot, sculpted, well-hung, abalicious men are shaking their booties,” she says, threading her fingers through my hair.
“I’m not most men,” I whisper in her ear, then nip the lobe.
With a sexy murmur, she curls her arms tighter, like she owns me.
“Someone’s awfully possessive tonight,” TJ chimes in, but he’s looking at Bellamy.
“Very possessive,” Coco puts in with a smirk.
“And I’m owning it. Don’t go on stage for amateur hour, Easton,” Bellamy says, clutching at my shirt. “I don’t want any of the cute girls here throwing greenbacks at you.”
TJ cracks up. “You have nothing to worry about, honey. I’ve seen this guy at weddings. He can’t dance for shit.”
I narrow a frown at TJ. “Hey now. Keep some of my secrets, will ya?”
“Only some, my friend. Only some.” TJ lifts his glass of amber liquid. “Also, good to see you here again, bro.”
Bellamy smiles at me with curiosity. “Do you come here often?”
I laugh. “Let’s just say it’s not the first time TJ has convinced me to join him.”
“Or me,” Coco says, then returns to her tablet.
“Tell the truth, E,” TJ says, then curls a hand around my shoulder as he directs his attention to Bellamy. “This man? Easton took me here right after my ex dumped me.”
“You needed to get to your happy place,” I say with a shrug. Of course I was going to take him to the one spot in town where his busy mind and heavy heart could have the night off.
“My Happy Place!” TJ shouts, then grabs his phone, taps out a note, muttering to himself, but still audible enough for me to hear. “Future . . . book . . . title.”
I pounce on that. “Dude. Did you just dictate a work note to yourself while we’re out? You know the punishment.”
With a groan, he says, “Ah, fuck me.”
“Oh, what’s the punishment?” Bellamy asks, her tone dripping with intrigue.
“We get to pick a guy for him to try to kiss.”
Her jaw drops as she makes the connection, and then she slugs me. “That’s what your friends did to you the night we met.”
I plant a kiss on her cheek. “And the fuckers picked well. Admit it.”
She pouts, but she’s only pretending to be mad. “I want to pick for him.”
“Please pick,” TJ begs. “You’ll do a better job than Easton.”
She wiggles around on my lap, clearly excited with the task. “I’ll have someone for you in a bit. I’m going to take my time with this mission. But tell me—did coming here back then work for you, TJ? Did you get to your happy place?”
TJ swirls the amber liquid in his glass, a little contemplative. “I’m still working on that. But aren’t we all? At least I have good friends to get me through the hard shit.”
“I’ll drink to that too, brother.” I reach for Bellamy’s glass and clink it to TJ’s. I swallow some of her drink, then smack my lips.
“Bet your lips taste fiery,” she whispers in my ear, and heat flares from her words, her nearness. Just from . . . her.
I turn my head and catch her lips against mine in a scorching kiss that ends too soon.
“Give it up for Jack the fireman!” the DJ calls as the man on stage pumps his hips then yanks off his pants.
TJ hoots.
Bellamy cheers.
Coco nods sagely. “Indeed. Jack has excellent charisma.” My grandmother sounds like she’s appraising dogs at Westminster.
TJ stretches an arm out to tap Coco on the shoulder. “Put that on Jack’s pros list. But we need to see how he handles a G-string.”
“But of course,” she says, her glasses sliding down her nose as she enters more notes.
Chuckling, I turn to the beauty in my lap, her honeysuckle smell mingling with the cloying scent of perfumes from other patrons. “What about you, Bellamy? What do you think about Jack?”
She studiously watches the sculpted dancer as he exits the stage, then gives her ruling. “Jack is an excellent choice. Not only does he have charisma, I hear he’s a fabulous listener.” Then she dips her voice for my ears only. “And that’s so very important.”
“It is,” I say.
“Now, here’s Jones with the long, hot hose,” the DJ croons.
I gesture to the dancer, so she can evaluate him next. “Tell me about Jones,” I say, low and just for her as the guy slinks to the lip of the stage, threads his hands through his hair, and jerks his head back.
Bellamy is all over the new guy’s pros, whispering to me once more. “A hose is nice, but that’s not his greatest asset. What they don’t tell you about Jones is he’s very quick with his tongue. He can fire off commentary on any subject like that.” She snaps her fingers. “News, politics, books, wine, songs . . .”
“My, my. He sounds fabulous,” I say.
“But he can’t back down from a bet,” she adds with a pout.
“Is that a bad thing?”
She cups my jaw, roams her soft fingers down my day-old stubble. Her questing touch sends lightning-bolt tremors through me. “As long as he doesn’t let it get in the way of his heart’s desire.”
I know where we’re going, and I like this game. “And finally, what about him?” I point to the last guy on stage—an Asian man who gyrates his pelvis at Mach speed.
“He’s a beast in bed,” Bellamy says, but she’s not looking his way as she slides her fingers through my hair again. “But that’s not the most important thing. He’s the kind of guy who treats his woman like a queen. Makes her feel like she’s the center of the world. Like nothing else even matters. Because he wants to find the one. The one who makes his heart thunder.”
My chest hollows because I can’t be that guy for her. I know what happens when I play that role. I’ve been there, and the pain is too much. The dark days terrify me. But I’d love to give her everything she craves, so I play along for now. “He should give that to her,” I say.
Her irises flash with vulnerability. “So, is that the kind of man you’re going to find for me at Carpe Diem? Someone who’s all of those things?”
I run a hand down her arm, torn up inside between what I want and what I fear. “I’ll find you someone you deserve. You deserve all of those things.”
“Find him for me. I’m getting tired of kissing all these frogs,” she whispers, but there’s a note of sadness in her voice.
For tonight, I can give her that. “Spend the night with me. Kiss this frog for a little bit longer.”